16 September 2015- Questions are being raised about the safety of certain batches of a Chinese-manufactured MSG by-product bacterial protein after the deaths of approximately 10,000 pigs across at least 15 farms owned by 9 different operators in Italy at the beginning of this year.
An investigation by the Italian health authorities confirmed that the deaths were the result of the presence of a particular strain of Bacillus cereus in at least two batches of granulated MSG by-product bacterial protein, manufactured by MEIHUA Biological Sci-Tech Co.'s factory in Tongliao and sold under the brand name BACTOPLUS in Italy.
Documentation from the Italian authorities indicates that in addition to Italy, distribution of the contaminated MSG by-product bacterial protein occurred in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Serbia.